pet peeves

I often tell people that I have one perfect dog and one very sweet but very crazy dog.

And then yesterday, I had the following exchange on Twitter:

Still thinking about this exchange as Jon and I went to bed, I said, “My friend says that people project their own personalities and issues on their pets. But we have two very different pets! And he says that one of them is probably me, and one of them is probably you. But which is which?”

To which I replied, “Are you saying I’m the cracked out crazy one in constant need of attention and affection and snuggles?”

His silence said all I needed to know.

Bessie, aka Jon. The chilled out, obedient dog with a voracious appetite who has never met a food she doesn't like. Her dad, on the other hand, has met two foods he doesn't like: olives and corned beef.Olive, aka me. She's prone to run off chasing things that interest her, often lashes out at strangers, and is sometimes too smart for her own good.But let's be honest here, this is how you normally find Olive, because she's a total attention whore.

Well, David is definitely the laid-back, chill member of our household. And I’m a teensy bit high-strung, I suppose. However, I’m sure the fact that Bruiser has to take Valium everyday is just a coincidence.

First of all, an observation on the last photograph: the red collar is the same color as the rug and it makes it seem the dog is beheaded.
I don’t agree with the premise. My dog and I were a close team for 13 years (she passed away recently). She was an enormous people-lover and i’m a loner (not inviting enough people to the house often made me guilty toward her). I’m a big animal lover whereas she, with the exception of fellow canines, hated them with a passion.

This isn’t something I’ve considered. My dog (a rescue dog) is passive-aggressive. In the house, she’s fine, but around other dogs she’s an absolute maniac that wants to kill everything in sight. Frankly, I’m going to have to associate her personality with her previous owner – whoever THAT was.

Interesting thought! I’ve also heard that owner and pet usually resembles in appearance. I know this to be true for a former friend of mine. She looks exactly like her dog! However, the only resemblance I have to mine is we both have spots (freckles in my case). :)

Interesting. My husband has a black lab, Don (long story), he takes to the ranch with him every day. I tell my husband that Don is his alter ego. Don is a content being alone, an avid hunter, but loves to be loved. I think that describes my husband perfectly. The three yorkies, however, are a whole other story. Cute dogs, by the way.

I never thought of it like that. I have two very different cats. One spastic and the other afraid of the world. They have both been that since since before I met my boyfriend. What does that say about me? Wait, don’t answer…

I can see what your friend was saying about people projecting their personalities onto their pets, but my dog won’t set foot on the grass except to go to the bathroom so I can’t help but hope that he’s wrong

I own a rescued (and previously abused) weimer. A virtual stomach on legs; he never sits still, has a major cat issue, and has twice run straight into the mail truck. Not sure I’m projecting . . . must be my husband’s fault. Thanks for the post, it was great.

Here’s the weird thing – I had Jackson for 7 years before Jed and I started dating, but they have much the same personality. You would think the dog would be more like me, but no. Jed has gone all dog whisperer on him, and they are like two peas in a pod.

I’m SO on board with this and have been for years. But here’s the catch…My boyfriend and I have 3 dogs. And they all have Very distinct and different personalities (Singer-loves ppl and muscular boy dogs (uh yeah, weird right?) but not necessarily ALL dogs, Sister-loves me, my sister (perhaps it’s all inthe name, eh?) and chasing anything that moves (including house guests) and Judy-loves everything and everybody under the sun (Especially FOOD). I reckon this means that we have a ghost in the house? A ghost who’s into beefy boy dogs?Hmmmmm…

I must say, if this projection of personalities is true, then the same situation applies to my wife and I. We have a cracked out attention whore and an older dog that will chill on the floor as the cracked out one pulls on his ears. Needless to say, i’m not the needy one! :)

Hilarious. This inspires me to artificially strike up a similar conversation/comparison with my girlfriend — in good humor of course. I’m not sure if it would be as effective, however, given we have cats and their personality is that of, well, a cat…

Maybe I’ll save it for the dog forthcoming. Though then it becomes a comparison of cats versus dogs and nothing good can come of that.

For example, I used to have a rabbit who was extremely outgoing and opinionated and didn’t have any problem expressing herself. Her personality was the opposite of me at the time. Conversely, I know someone who owns a dog; spastic, flaky, and a little dim just like his owner.

Some may pick a stupid or small animal because they have a subconscious need to feel superior while others choose intelligent or large animals because that’s the personality they want for themselves.

Pets definitely have personalities, but the ones we choose I think depends more on our own.

I am so glad I read your post. Animals truly have their own personalities and games they like to play. I had a zany bird named Blue. Though he is gone, my friend and I still bust out laughing over the nutty actions he would do. As for pet owners projecting their character traits on their pets, sure, some do but not all. I think those who are not animal lovers don’t get why we love our pets like we do just as we don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want someone (as in a pet) who loves you unconditionally.

Finally, I have to say that your dogs are beautiful. Seeing Olive splayed out on the floor gave me a good, hearty laugh and brought back memories of my own dogs who felt they owned the floors, carpets, and couches!

hmmm interesting.
my dog likes to walk/not me. oh wait no, thats because she pulls!
i eat way too much/so does the dog.
i sleep a lot/the dog sleeps with me.
my dog doesn’t like any other dogs/i want to meet them all.
she goes to bed too early/not me.
so/so

Oh my god, I love the attention whore picture, too funny! I think that this is an interesting concept that the animals take after their owners in their personalities. I knew some animals where this was true which I had, and others where they definitely were their own personality type. Definitely an interesting question to think about it.

Absolutely gorgeous dogs! My brothers dog is prone to manic outbursts, running around like her life depends on it and never letting you relax for jumping on you and my Mums dog is dippy and going slightly mad… so I totally agree with this theory! x

My dog loves everyone and everything. And often sniffs everyones bums, so we have that in common ;)

My dog is a foodie, she’s allowed eat anything i accidently drop, she’s like a built in maid, except she licks the floor. She loves broccoli, I do not love her broccoli farts.

As for personality, she only has two settings. Lazy dog naps, and balls to the wall crazy jillian michaels energy lets run 10 miles today and play catch for 23 hours! I have picked up this habit. I’m either nap’n or run’n around like I just shot myself up with a quad espresso. And we are both very cute. She got that from me. ;)

So cute! I love doggies, they are one of the greatest creatures alive. And I do think that some dogs do have similar personalities as their humans :) I know that my dog is crazy and my mom’s dog is forgetful (both the same breed lol).

Maybe it just applies to bigger pets, like dogs and cats. We had a dwarf hamster (Nosy, RIP) who, in the first year of his life was extremely hight strung and would swing monkey-like from all the bars of his cage. He also felt a recurring need to chew on his bars, thus scraping off all the paint. And he would try to upturn his foodbowl.
Towards the end of his life, he would bite us. And I do meant bite. Once he grabbed on, you could lift your hand, and there would be Nosy, dangling from your finger.
He was adorable and so much fun to watch but I certainly hope that none of us start swinging around and chewing on bars. Or biting people, for that matter. :D

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Welcome!

My name is Sarah Orsborn. I'm a writer living in Denver, CO, with my husband Jon, our six-year-old twin daughters Etta and Claire, who has Spina Bifida, our two dogs Olive and Bessie, and one not-so-Tinycat.

As a child, I nicknamed myself Ernie Bufflo, and from this quirk, my blog takes its name.